Basil, Green Goddess of Summer!

It’s that time of year. From the moment you bring the first zucchini into the house, up until October, it’s non-stop freezing, blanching, drying, pureeing, canning, and cooking. But, it’s not as bad as it sounds. In fact, it’s completely worth all the time and effort. Of course, you should make sure to preserve one of the most popular herbs in Italian cooking basil. Basil doesn’t taste the same when it is dries, but luckily there are multiple ways of preserving it for use all year round.

If harvested correctly, basil will continue to thrive throughout the growing season. Photo: Nonna’s Way

Basil is one of the easiest herbs to grow in the garden and is also a container garden favourite. You can prolong the life of the plant by moving it indoors in the fall or when temperatures begin to cool at night. Basil is actually from the mint family and there are several different variety of it. Two of the most common used in Italian cooking are lettuce leaf basil and Genovese basil (also known as sweet basil). The latter is well known for being the main ingredient in the classic pesto recipe. Other varieties include lemon basil, purple basil, licorice basil and even cinnamon basil!

Harvested correctly, basil will continue to thrive throughout the growing season. To do this, make sure to pick off the flower heads as soon as they begin to appear as this means the plant is about to bolt. This is great if you are trying to collect seeds, but otherwise pick off the tops to promote new growth. If you are harvesting a significant portion of the plant, just be sure to pick from the top down. You don’t want to pick every single leaf off the plant. Instead, follow the stem to the point where you see new little leaves coming out and cut the stem half an inch above this point. Within one to three weeks your plant will be ready to harvest again!

Once tomatoes are ready for picking, a basil and tomato salad is pretty much a staple at any of our lunch and dinner tables. Photo: Nonna’s Way

Once you have picked your basil give it a good rinse and gently spin the leaves in a salad spinner or place between clean tea towels to dry them off so they don’t turn black. You can air dry basil but the flavor keeps much better when frozen. To freeze, place the clean basil in a food processor and add olive oil. The olive oil will help the processor chop/puree the basil but it will also keep it nice and green as well as add flavor to the dish you’re putting it in. Another option is to use butter instead of olive oil. These little cubes are packed with taste and great for spreading over white pizza, focaccia, or a piece of fresh bread.

Try finishing off a steak with basil infused butter! If you don’t want to use olive oil or butter, you can just chop and freeze the basil as well. Either way, you can put the chopped or pureed basil in a food safe freezer bag or better yet, use an ice cube tray so that it’s easy to just grab a cube portion when you need it. There are various sizes and shapes of ice cube trays out there: use the bigger basil cubes for sauces or smaller ones for salads or dressings! Or you can easily prepare a pesto sauce by adding some pine nuts, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to the basil and blending all together in a food processor. The point is this – you don’t have to wait until next summer to enjoy that fresh taste of basil!!

You can air dry basil but the flavor keeps much better when frozen. Photo: Nonna’s Way

For short term storage, pick a long enough section of the basil plant so that you are left with a stem. Remove any low hanging leaves and place the stems in a small glass or jar with cold water and store out of direct sun. Change the water every day or two and the basil will stay fresh for days. It is even common for the stems to start growing roots when storing in this method!

Once tomatoes are ready for picking, a basil and tomato salad is pretty much a staple at any of our lunch and dinner tables. It’s the easiest thing to prepare yet a favorite among friends who are always amazed at the flavor in such a simple dish. So with that said, you simply cut up your tomatoes, chop up some fresh basil, add olive oil and salt to taste. Finely sliced red onion, hot peppers, and cucumbers are always great options to add to this salad. I know normally you would not salt your salad until just before serving, but this is one you can go ahead and salt while you’re getting other things prepared. It helps build the wonderful ‘juice’ at the bottom of the bowl. The mixture of seeds, tomato pulp, and olive oil dressing is definitely the best part of the salad. It actually becomes a free-for-all for those left with a piece of bread in their hands to soak it up. Delicious!